Pokemon Crystal Version - Pokemon of the Day: Mr. Mime (#122)

Everybody remembers the good ol' Pokémon of
the Day Guy, right? Well, once Gold and Silver hit the shores of the US
and all the hype had died down a bit, he decided to move to the top of
Mount Kilimanjaro to seek enlightenment. Now that every self-respecting
Pokémaniac has Ruby and Sapphire on the brain, however, it's high
time we revitalize the age-old tradition of bringing you your Pokémon
of the Day! And, as everyone knows, there's only one thing better than
a Pokémon of the Day Guy...a Pokémon of the Day Chick!

Each and every day we'll be taking a close and personal look at
one of these unique creatures called Pokémon. Here you'll find all
the moves you could ever want (learned, hereditary and all compatible TMs/HMs
from G/S/C and R/B/Y, if applicable), breeding chains for hereditary moves,
Pokédex entries, general descriptions, max stats, in-game locations,
weaknesses and resistances, gameplay tips and one or more suggested movesets
(SUGGESTED, people; I'm not telling you what to do) to get the most bang
for your Pokébuck.

Okay people, let's get one thing straight right here and now: I
hate Mr. Mime. No seriously, I do. I can at least feign relative diplomacy
with many of my less favored Pokemon, but this is not one of them. Have
you ever seen Mr. Mime in Stadium?? That's the kind of stuff nightmares
are made of! And the fact that Mr. (MR.!!) Mime comes in both male and
female form is just plain messed up. You might wanna do a random search
of your designers' cubicles and find out who's hiding the crack pipe one
of these days, Nintendo. Anyway, I will say that Mr. Mime is a semi-okay
support Pokemon for the rest of your party, but that's about the only thing
this groping, face-painted freakazoid is good for.

NAME: Mr. MimeTYPE: Barrier (Psychic)HEIGHT: 4' 3"WEIGHT: 120 lbs.

EVOLUTION: Mr. Mime does not evolve

AVAILIBLE IN: Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal

LOCATION: There is only one Mr. Mime to be found in RBY;
you can trade for it in a house on Route 2 for either an Abra (in Red and
Blue) or a Clefairy (in Yellow). Wild Mr. Mime can be caught on Route 21
is GSC, and Gold and Silver owners can also purchase one in the Celadon
City Game Corner for 3,333 coins.

Well...perhaps I was just a little bit hasty before. Make no mistake,
the mere sight of this Pokemon makes me want to retch...but I suppose he
can be moderately decent in battle if given the chance. That is to say,
if you happen to be a Mr. Mime fan (why?!), I don't want you breathing
down my neck for saying he sucks. As much as I may wish it were so, my
job here is not to insult whichever Pokemon I please but rather to give
insight as to how one might go about using them to good effect in battle
(the insults are just a happy little bonus). So, without further ado, here
is my none-too-humble take on the..."interesting"...Mr. Mime.

I will say there is at least one good thing about Mr. Mime, and
that is the fact that he can Baton Pass the move Barrier. I sometimes recommend
in other Pokemon movesets that you try to either pseudo-pass them a Reflect
or Baton Pass a Barrier before actively using them in battle, and Mr. Mime
is the only Pokemon I can think of off the top of my head that can indeed
pass the Barrier move (there are probably more; my brain just isn't working
right now). Reflect's usefulness is rather limited in that you can't "stack"
Reflects and that the move only stays in effect for a few short turns.

Barrier, on the other hand, can be used up to three times and, once
passed, will stay with the recipient until they are either KO'd, switched
out or subjected to a Hazer. Try Baton Passing a Barrier or two to a fast,
powerful hitter with sub-par Defense like Alakazam and see what develops,
eh? As with all Baton Passers, though, remember not to get too greedy...successfully
passing one Barrier is infinitely better than trying to go for two or three
and ending up dead before you have a chance to use Baton Pass. And hey,
if nothing else Mr. Mime can use the move Barrier in his own battle strategy
as his Special Attack is decent yet his Defense is...well...not.

If you're looking for a pseudo-passer as opposed to a Baton Passer
then you've come to the right place; Mr. Mime is arguably one of the best
in the game. No need to breed here (good thing, too; saying "Mr. Mime"
and "breed" in the same sentence makes me sick); Mr. Mime is fortunate
enough to learn all three pseudo-pass moves (Reflect, Light Screen and
Safeguard) on his own by mere level. I've chosen Light Screen for him simply
because of the three, it is the move I seemingly recommend least often.
Not that it's a bad move by any means; it's just that Reflect and Safeguard
are generally more accessible and/or practical. If you have a Pokemon like
Marowak on your team and don't have access to an Amnesia Baton Passer,
a Mr. Mime with Light Screen will probably end up being their best friend
(having a Mr. Mime as your best friend...no wonder Cubone prefers to be
alone). Mr. Mime's own Special Defense is very impressive, but it might
still be a good idea to use Light Screen for his own sake if you think
your opponent might pull out a Dark type while you're trying to set up
your Barrier/Baton Pass combo or something.

I've included Psychic as the last move because some of you might
actually want to use Mr. Mime to battle (I know, I know, some people are
odd like that). As I said, Mr. Mime's Special Attack is relatively solid,
so having this powerful STABed move on board could really help you out
if you find your Mr. Mime to be the last Pokemon remaining in a match.
Considering the many great support moves Mr. Mime can learn I almost feel
guilty wasting a move slot with an offensive maneuver, but really, what
are ya gonna do? I figured if nothing else I'd humor the Mr. Mime fans
out there by not restricting him solely to the Helpy Helperton role.

I prefer Bright Powder on Mr. Mime because it can possibly help
him get away with using that extra Barrier or tossing up a quick Light
Screen before passing out (like, Baton Passing out to another Pokemon,
not "passing out" as in fainting); Focus Band would be every bit as feasible
here. Leftovers on Mr. Mime is an absolute joke as his HP is in the gutter,
and hopefully you'll have the sense to bring him in against a slower opponent
so he has time to set up (negating the need for Quick Claw). MiracleBerry
is also a consideration, but I wouldn't waste such a rare and useful item
on a Pokemon as expendable as Mr. Mime.

As far as other moves go, you can (as I alluded to before) set Mr.
Mime up as the ultimate pseudo-passer, equipping him with all three pseudo-passable
moves and just choosing which one (or more than one) would be most beneficial
in any given situation. In keeping with the whole support Pokemon role
thing, Mr. Mime can also Baton Pass the move Meditate (though it's rather
weak) or soften up an opposing Pokemon with Thunderwave. He also happens
to be the only Pokemon in existence that learns the fun Substitute naturally
(many other Pokemon can take the Substitute TM in RBY, but not having to
time travel to get the move is a huge bonus). You can set Mr. Mime up as
an elemental puncher if you want a purely offensive Pokemon, though he
really doesn't do as good a job of it as Alakazam. If I were to use Mr.
Mime as an attacker I'd be more likely to go with something risky yet exceedingly
versatile like Sunny Day, Solarbeam, Fire Punch and Thunderbolt. Finally,
Counter might be a worthwhile investment with Mr. Mime's crummy Defense,
though I wouldn't recommend the move if you're planning to use Mr. Mime
primarily for Barrier.

I certainly hope that's good enough to appease any Mr. Mime fans
who may read this. I sure as heck don't know of any, but I prefer not to
take chances when remembering some of the nasty emails I've received after
ripping wholeheartedly into what seemed at the time to be a universally
despised Pokemon. Meh. With his crummy HP and physical stats yet acceptable
Special stats, Mr. Mime can be either one of the best Pokemon you'll encounter
or else one of the worse, depending on what kinds of Pokemon you're both
carrying with you and facing in battle. I'd never train Mr. Mime because
he positively gives me the willies, quite frankly, but I will say that
he can be a decent and original addition to your party if you're actually
able and/or willing to put up with that Michael-Jackson-meets-Ronald-McDonald
creepiness...and don't even get me started on this thing's hair.

Have fun getting to know this wickedly warped clown (mime, whatever;
they all look the same to me) if you're so inclined, and don't forget to
come back tomorrow for another hot, steaming bowl of Pokemon of the Day!

Please email any questions or comments to pokemonofthedaychick@ign.com,
or drop me a line if you just wanna say hello! I'm always up for a rousing
Pokémon chat. And, as always, feel free to visit us on IGN's dedicated
Pokémon
Board. See you there!